Bigger Leaner Stronger

by Michael Matthews

  There are three forms of fish oil supplements on the market today:

  Triglyceride

  Ethyl ester

  Reesterified triglyceride

  A triglyceride is a molecule that consists of three fatty acids and one molecule of glycerol, a colorless, odorless substance found in fats and oils. The triglyceride form of fish oil is its natural (unprocessed) state.

  An ethyl ester fish oil is created by processing natural triglycerides to replace the glycerol molecules with ethanol (alcohol). This removes impurities and increases the amount of EPA and DHA in the oil.

  The reesterified triglyceride form is similar to the natural form and is created by using enzymes to convert the ethyl ester oil back into triglyceride oil.

  Of these three forms, you’d probably assume that a natural triglyceride supplement is your best choice. Not necessarily.

  While natural triglyceride fish oils are absorbed well by the body, they can have much higher levels of contaminants than ethyl ester and reesterified triglyceride oils (due to the low level of processing).43

  Furthermore, natural triglyceride fish oils are lower in EPA and DHA per gram than ethyl ester and reesterified triglyceride oils, which means you have to take more to achieve the desired results. This can be expensive both in terms of dollars and calories.

  Ethyl ester fish oils are the most popular, but that’s not because they’re the best. They’re just the cheapest to produce, which comes with significant downsides.

  First, studies show that this form of fish oil isn’t absorbed well by the body.44 It also releases ethanol (alcohol), which needs to be processed by the liver.45 This can cause various side effects, including burping, flu-like symptoms, upset stomach, strange tastes in your mouth, and skin rash.46

  Ethyl ester fish oils also oxidize (go bad) more quickly and easily than triglyceride oils.

  As you can tell, I’m no fan of ethyl ester fish oils and don’t recommend them.

  In case you’re wondering how to tell whether a fish oil is an ethyl ester product, check the label. If it doesn’t specifically state the form of the oil, assume it’s ethyl ester. Companies that pay more for the superior, more expensive triglyceride forms call it out in their marketing to increase salability.

  And that leaves reesterified triglyceride oil, which is becoming the “gold standard” of fish oil supplements for several reasons:

  High bioavailability47

  High concentrations of EPA and DHA

  Low levels of toxins and pollutants

  Resistance to oxidation48

  None of the alcohol-related side effects associated with ethyl ester oils

  Not many companies sell reesterified triglyceride oils because they’re the most expensive to produce, but I think they’re well worth the premium.

  Vitamin D

  Not too long ago, vitamin D was simply known as the “bone vitamin,” and even today many physicians still believe it’s essential only for bone health.

  Recent research shows otherwise, though. Nearly every type of tissue and cell in the body has vitamin D receptors, including your heart, brain, and even fat cells, and vitamin D plays a vital role in a large number of physiological processes.49

  Furthermore, studies show that vitamin D also regulates genes that control immune function, metabolism, and even cell growth and development.50

  This is why insufficient vitamin D levels is associated with an increased risk of many types of disease, including osteoporosis, heart disease, stroke, some cancers, type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, tuberculosis, and even the flu.51

  Our bodies can’t produce enough vitamin D to maintain adequate levels, either, so we have to obtain it from diet, sun exposure, or supplementation.52

  There are small amounts of vitamin D in various foods like beef liver, cheese, and egg yolks, which have anywhere from 10 to 60 IU (international units) per ounce, and slightly larger amounts in fatty fish like salmon, tuna, and mackerel, which have anywhere from 50 to 150 IU per ounce. Cod liver oil is by far the best food source with over 1,300 IU per tablespoon.

  Vitamin D is also added to various “fortified” foods like milk, breakfast cereals, orange juice, and margarine, but getting enough vitamin D through these foods alone isn’t feasible if you’re trying to follow a sensible meal plan.

  When our skin is exposed to UVB rays, which are emitted by the sun, they interact with a form of cholesterol in the body to produce vitamin D. The more skin that’s exposed to the sun, and the stronger the sun’s rays, the more vitamin D you produce.

  For instance, research shows that with 25 percent of our skin exposed, our bodies can produce upwards of 400 IU of vitamin D in just three to six minutes of exposure to the 12 p.m. Florida summer sun.53

  Depending on your diet and latitude, that means you’d need to spend anywhere from 15 to 60 minutes sunbathing per day to maintain sufficient levels. And you might be simply out of luck in the winter.

  All this is why I prefer vitamin D supplementation. It’s cheap, effective, and gives you maximum flexibility in your diet.

  Multivitamin

  Our bodies need a variety of vitamins and minerals to support all the vital growth and repair processes that keep us alive and functioning.

  Ideally, we’d get everything we need from the food we eat, but due to the nature of the average Western diet, most people tend to be deficient in a number of key nutrients.

  For example, according to research conducted by scientists at Colorado State University and published in 2005, at least half the US population failed to meet the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) for vitamin B-6, vitamin A, magnesium, calcium, and zinc, and 33 percent of the population didn’t meet the RDA for folate.54

  A more recent study conducted by scientists at Tufts University and published in 2017 found that more than 30 percent of the US population was deficient in calcium, magnesium, and vitamins A, C, D, and E.55

  Research also shows that average vitamin K intake levels may be suboptimal as well.56

  Enter the multivitamin supplement. The idea of taking a supplement that can plug any nutritional holes in our diets and mitigate the harmful effects of some of our less-than-healthy habits is great in theory, but most multivitamins fall short of this mark (let alone surpass it).

  Instead of doing the hard work of determining optimal dosages of the essential vitamins and minerals for their target publics, most supplement companies go with premade formulations provided by manufacturers.

  These products are often stuffed with all kinds of micronutrients, regardless of whether we need to supplement with them or not, and in unjustifiably high or low dosages. This is why many multivitamins provide an overabundance of vitamins and minerals that most people aren’t deficient in and little or none of what they need most.

  For instance, many multivitamins contain large amounts of the microminerals manganese, molybdenum, and boron and vitamins C, E, and A, despite the fact that most people eating halfway decent diets already get plenty of these nutrients and don’t need to supplement with them.

  In contrast, a good example of something important lacking in most multivitamins is vitamin K, a group of vitamins that plays an important role in bone growth and repair, blood vessel function, cancer prevention, joint health, and more.57

  And if a multivitamin does include vitamin K, it’s almost always a small dose of a form that’s present in large amounts in whole foods, known as vitamin K1.

  The form that should be included is vitamin K2, which offers unique health benefits and is much harder to obtain from diet alone. Why is K2 rarely found in multivitamins? Because it’s expensive, of course.

  Furthermore, many multivitamins provide potentially dangerous superdoses of certain vitamins and minerals.

  For example, the amount of vitamin E in many multivitamins can be harmful to your
health. Vitamin E is an antioxidant, meaning it helps protect against oxidative damage, and it’s often overdosed on the assumption that more antioxidants is always better. This is why both it and vitamin C (another antioxidant) are usually included in multivitamins in sky-high amounts.

  Not all antioxidants are similar, however, and regular supplementation of vitamin E above 400 IU per day is now suspected to increase the risk of all-cause mortality (death from all causes).58

  To make matters worse, very few multivitamins contain anything worthwhile in addition to the vitamins and minerals.

  Call me cynical, but am I supposed to get excited over a 100 milligram “proprietary blend” of fruit and vegetable powders? Some probiotics that are undoubtedly dead and, even if they weren’t, wouldn’t do anything anyway? A few enzymes or amino acids that I don’t need to supplement with? Herbs that purport to help “detox” my body (which no supplement can do)?

  So, in the final analysis, I’d rather people just eat a healthy amount and variety of fruit and vegetables than waste money and pin false hopes on a multivitamin that’s very unlikely to benefit them in any meaningful way.

  Fat Burner

  I probably don’t need to say this by now, but I’m going to do it anyway:

  No amount of weight loss pills and powders are going to make you lean.

  Trust me. If you’re trying to lose fat, pill popping, even to excess, is not going to be enough. There just aren’t any safe, natural “fat-burning” compounds powerful enough to cause meaningful weight reduction on their own.

  Furthermore, you shouldn’t be surprised at this point to learn that most weight loss supplements on the market, including some of the most popular ones, are flops.

  For example:

  According to a meta-analysis conducted by scientists at the University of Exeter, the best you can hope for with Garcinia cambogia is a few extra pounds of weight loss over a few months, and even that is less likely than no additional weight loss whatsoever.59

  According to another meta-analysis conducted by the same scientists, green coffee extract may be able to help you lose weight slightly faster only when taken in high enough doses, but the scientific jury is still out and the case isn’t looking good.60

  Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a bit of a mystery as studies show it can help some people lose fat, fail to help others, and even cause fat gain in some cases.61How? Why? What will it do for you? Nobody can say yet.

  Animal research shows that raspberry ketones have anti-obesity effects in mice, but we have no valid human research to see how they affect us.62

  Now the good news:

  If you know how to drive fat loss with proper dieting and exercise, there are a few supplements that can accelerate the process.

  Based on my experience with my own body and having worked with thousands of people, I feel comfortable saying that a proper fat loss supplementation routine can increase fat loss by about 30 to 50 percent with few if any side effects.

  That is, if you can lose 1 pound of fat per week through proper diet and exercise (and you can), you can lose 1.3 to 1.5 pounds of fat per week by adding the right supplements into the mix.

  Another big benefit of taking the right fat loss supplements is that they’re especially effective for reducing “stubborn fat,” which is belly and lower-back fat for most men.

  What are these “right” supplements, how do they work, and how can we use them safely and effectively?

  Let’s find out, starting with everyone’s favorite.

  Caffeine

  Caffeine does a lot more than give you an energy high.

  Studies show that it also:

  Decreases perceived effort (makes exercise feel easier)63

  Makes you more resistant to fatigue64

  Increases power output65

  Increases muscle endurance66

  Increases strength67

  Increases anaerobic performance68

  Boosts fat loss69

  Caffeine can also reverse the muscle weakness many people experience when they train in the morning.70

  Most of caffeine’s benefits are a byproduct of its ability to increase the amount of catecholamines (chemicals that trigger fat burning) in your blood, which also raises your basal metabolic rate.

  For instance, research shows that in most people, a relatively small dosage of 200 milligrams of caffeine increases BMR by about 7 percent for three hours.71 If you have caffeine two or three times per day, then, this can add up to an additional 150 to 200 calories burned.

  You should also know that your body begins building a tolerance to caffeine almost immediately, and the higher your tolerance is, the less effective caffeine will be for enhancing performance and fat loss.72

  Therefore, if you want to get the biggest performance boost out of caffeine, use it just a few days per week before your most difficult workouts (I usually have some before my workouts that involve barbell squatting and deadlifting).

  And to get the most fat loss out of caffeine, use it daily for two to three weeks, and then take a week off to “reset” your tolerance and preserve its effectiveness.

  Yohimbine

  Yohimbine is a compound obtained from the bark of the Pausinystalia yohimbe tree, and several studies show that it can speed up fat loss.73

  Like caffeine, it does this by stimulating the production of catecholamines, but unlike caffeine, it can also help you burn more “stubborn fat.”

  “Stubborn fat?” you might be wondering.

  Yep, some fat cells are far more difficult to shrink than others. This isn’t a genetic curse. It’s simply a physiological mechanism your body uses to defend against low body fat levels.

  To trigger fat burning, your body releases catecholamines into your blood, which then “attach” to receptors on fat cells. This causes the release (mobilization) of the energy stored within those cells for use.

  Fat cells have two types of receptors for catecholamines: alpha- and beta-receptors.74 To keep this simple, beta-receptors generally speed up fat mobilization, whereas alpha-receptors hinder it.75 (The physiology is more complex than this, but we don’t need to go deeper for our purposes here.)

  Thus, the more alpha-receptors a fat cell has, the more “resistant” it is to being mobilized by catecholamines. On the other hand, the more beta-receptors a fat cell has, the more “receptive” it is to the fat-mobilizing molecules.

  As you’ve probably guessed, the areas of your body that get lean quickly have a lot of fat cells rich in beta-receptors, and the areas that take their sweet time leaning out have a large amount of fat cells rich in alpha-receptors.

  Another problem with these stubborn fat deposits relates to blood flow.76

  You may have noticed that fat in areas of your body like the lower stomach and back is slightly colder to the touch than fat in other areas of your body, like the arms or chest.

  This is due to less blood flowing through these cooler areas, and less blood flow means fewer catecholamines, which means even slower fat loss.

  So we have two things working against us here: large amounts of fat cells that don’t respond well to catecholamines and reduced blood flow that keeps the catecholamines away.

  This is why you can steadily lose weight with almost all the fat seeming to come from parts of your body that are already fairly lean.

  For instance, it’s common for men to lose fat from their arms, shoulders, and chest while their stomach and lower back remain relatively unchanged.

  Thus, once you approach about 10 percent body fat, every bit of “stubborn” fat you lose can have a noticeable impact on your physique. At this point, losing just a pound or two of fat from the “right places” can do a lot more in the mirror than several pounds from areas of your body that are already defined.

  Now, what does yohimbine have to d
o with all this?

  Studies show that it can speed up stubborn fat loss by attaching itself to, and more or less deactivating, the alpha-receptors on fat cells.77

  In other words, yohimbine prevents your fat cells’ alpha-receptors from putting the brakes on fat burning.

  There’s a catch, however. Elevated insulin levels completely negate yohimbine’s fat loss benefits.78 That means it’s strictly for use while exercising in a fasted state.

  Synephrine

  Synephrine is a compound found primarily in the bitter orange fruit, which is why it’s often referred to by that name.79

  It’s chemically similar to the ephedrine and pseudoephedrine found in many over-the-counter cold and allergy medications as well as weight loss and energy supplements that contain ma huang.

  Consequently, synephrine stimulates the nervous system and increases BMR, and increases the thermic effect of food (the energy cost of digesting and processing what you eat).80

  There’s also evidence that, like yohimbine, synephrine blocks the alpha-receptors on fat cells, which means that it too can speed up stubborn fat loss.81

  Muscle Builder

  I haven’t been to a supplement store in some time now, but the last time I was at one, I figured I’d take a look at the fancy stuff they keep locked up in the back.

  (If it’s behind lock and key, it must be good, right?)

  As usual, the cabinet was packed full of loud, shiny bottles that claimed to contain revolutionary natural muscle builders. The names always get me.

  Cyclo Tren

  Clenbuterex

  D-Pol

  T-Bomb

  Beastdrol

  Somnidren

  There was a time when I would buy supplements like these and hope they worked. I know better now. Here’s the truth:

  Most supplements that claim to aid in muscle building do absolutely nothing. And that’s particularly true of three of the most popular “muscle builders” on the market: